BSTRA announces completion of Partnership Grant Work

We are officially closing out 2015 with a finished trail project. Earlier this year Bay State Trail Riders Association, Inc. (BSTRA) received a grant from the Blackstone River Valley Heritage Corridor, Inc. to improve a total of 5.3 miles of trails located in the Douglas State Forest and on the Southern New England Trunkline Trail (SNETT). In addition to the work on the SNETT, there was a 1.4 mile section of the Ridge Trail in the Douglas State Forest which needed to be re-graded. The total cost of the project was just over $26,800, with the grant paying for half the cost and BSTRA paying the remaining $13,400+.

BSTRA is pleased to announce that the entire project has been completed and the trail is in great condition and ready for non-motorized use.

Two sections of the SNETT were targeted for this project and scheduled to begin in late Fall. The first area is a 2.46 mile section of the SNETT in Douglas starting at the historic Stone Arch Bridge on Wallum Lake Road and continuing all the way to the Connecticut state line. This particular section of the SNETT needed to be brushed back, drainage ditches needed to be opened, washed out areas needed to be filled, and extensive grading was needed to remove the large moguls that had developed over the years and other problem areas. Processed gravel had to be brought in to cover the old railroad cinder stones, as well as for other areas where needed, creating a much improved trail surface.

The second area was the 1.44 miles from Monroe Street, Douglas, to West Street, Uxbridge. Drainage ditches needed to be opened up, processed gravel was added to cover more than 1,000 feet of cinder stone, the trail surface was re-graded, and granite stones were set in place on the West Street entrance by the gate to keep out motorized users.

Between both of these sections of the SNETT, a total of 15 truckloads of gravel, approximately 375 tons, were trucked in to complete the necessary work. BSTRA is grateful to Pyne Sand and Stone Co., Inc. of Douglas for their generous donation of a portion of this material. Donations from other sponsors and individuals funded the remaining portion of the $13,400+ expense incurred by BSTRA for this project, including the cost to hire Speroni Excavating of Douglas. Volunteers came out to help with the brushing back on BSTRA work days scheduled earlier this Spring. BSTRA would like to thank all who made donations of time and funding to help make this project a reality. Your donations resulted in a tremendous reward to our trail community.

The project also included re-grading 1.4 miles on the Ridge Trail in the Douglas State Forest, and this part of the project was completed earlier this year in the Spring.